A video has emerged of the French journalist Olivier Dubois who has been held hostage since April 2021. Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Monday appealed for his release.
Dubois, 47, was seized while on an assignment in Gao in northern Mali by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, which is linked to Al-Qaeda.
During the 69-second clip, Dubois appears alone on the screen, wearing a blue shawl and seems in good health.
He addresses all his relatives and says that he hears their messages which are broadcast on RFI.
The video - which has not been authenticated - is believed to have been recorded after 8 January.
It is the first contact from Dubois since May 2021.
Malian and French authorities have not commented on the video.
"It's been months since we asked for a new proof of life," said Dubois' sister Canèle. "It has finally arrived. For us, it is really a great joy."
Support
French President Emmanuel Macron said in January that Dubois had not been forgotten.
"Our diplomatic teams, our military and the competent services are working tirelessly to obtain his release," he said.
In the video, Dubois says a photo of his children has reached him and he called on the French government to try and secure his release.
The group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Monday appealed for Dubois' release.
"A reassuring proof of life, the video's appearance on social media came just one week after RSF organised the projection of a huge photo of Dubois on to the side of the Pantheon in Paris as part of its campaign to draw attention to his plight," the Paris-based media watchdog said.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) joined the call.
"Those holding Dubois should release him unharmed without delay, and should cease all efforts to harass and kidnap members of the press," Angela Quintal, the CPJ's Africa programme coordinator, said in a statement.
Dubois is the last known French hostage in the world after the release in October 2020 of Sophie Petronin, a Franco-Swiss aid worker who was also kidnapped in Mali.
